On the opening night of February 14th, 1939, the lights went out, which required the crowd to tour their new library by candlelight. To celebrate 80 years of service to the community and commemorate the opening night, Wright Library held a candlelight celebration with historical items on display and a telling of the story of opening night.
Gem City Tonight with Andrew Mitakides
- Don Smith from Wiley’s Comedy Club
- Sara Stathes from The Barrel House
- Musical guest Velvet Crush Unplugged with Dana and David Garwood.
Dayton Unknown was lucky enough to meet with Andrew and talk with him about his show and learn more about him. Andrew was born and raised in the Dayton area, and spent ten years outside of Dayton working in voice acting, Shakespearean theater, musicals, comedies, and as a Golf Pro. He returned to Dayton at the end of 2015, with his wife Alexis. Currently, Andrew is a firefighter, Suicide Awareness Activist, Voice-Over Actor, Emcee, Ghostbuster, and now we can add Late Night Talk Show Host!
Source: JGR Photography & Videography
It’s Our 5th Anniversary!
Since then…
170 Posts
52,095 Views
750 Followers on WordPress
387 Posts on Instagram
2,414 Followers on Instagram
288 Likes on Facebook
So many wonderful people met.
And an unquantifiable amount of facts learned about Dayton.
Here are a few highlights of the past five years:
- Most Popular Story: Hills and Dales Lookout Tower: The REAL Story
- Sara’s Favorite Story: The Sad Tale of James Murphy
- Bethany’s Favorite Story : Going Out with a Bang: My God, I’ve Shot Myself
- Two stories in the Dayton Daily News:
- Four Events Planned and Hosted:
- Dayton Unknown Riverwalk
- Dayton Unknown Summer Scavenger Hunt
- Dayton Unknown Fall Scavenger Hunt 2014
- Dayton Unknown Fall Scavenger Hunt 2016
We are so excited to see what the future holds for us!
As always, if you have any story ideas or questions you’d like us to look into, please let us know! There are so many ways to contact us – leave a comment down below, via the Contact Us page, send an email (daytonunknown@hotmail.com), send a message on Facebook or Instagram (@daytonunknown), etc..
Victor Galbraith
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…
Jeff P. Schmitt, 1954-2018
Recently, Jeff Schmitt passed away (his obituary). While at lunch, he suffered a heart attack that eventually led to his passing. Jeff had suffered some health issues in recent years, including needing a new kidney, which he received from his son Jay.
Some Interesting Street Names
- Shoup Mill Road —Named for the mill on the Stillwater River
- Claggett Drive, Neff Road, Ensley Avenue, and Drill Avenue – named for early settlers of Dayton
- Bidleman Street — Short street named for Chas Bidleman, a Dayton dry goods merchant
- Clay Street —named for Henry Clay, a former candidate for U.S. president
Dayton Sights: Wright Brothers Benches
“It wasn’t luck that made them fly; it was hard work and common sense; they put their whole heart and soul and all their energy into an idea and they had the faith.” – John T. Daniels, who witnessed the first flights.
There are reportedly nine identical benches sculpted by David Evans Black, located all around the Dayton area. On the edge of the seat on the front, it reads, “Dedicated to the immortal spirit of Daytonians Orville and Wilbur Wright…” and continues on the back seat-edge with, “whose gift of powered flight lifted our world forever skyward.” The bench is designed to be reminiscent of the bench shown in the famous photograph of the Wright brothers’ first flight.
Edwin C. Moses
“Lots of people let it go by and never accomplish what they want. I just wanted to see what I could do.” – Edwin C. Moses
Edwin Corley Moses was born in 1955 in Dayton, Ohio. As the son of two educators, Edwin took academics seriously. In addition to being an excellent student, he was also a gifted athlete.
During high school, Edwin participated briefly in basketball and football, but soon turned to Track and Field. Edwin accepted an academic scholarship to Morehouse College, majoring in Physics and Industrial Engineering. Morehouse College did not have its own track, so Edwin practiced on nearby high school tracks. He competed mostly in 120-yard hurdles and the 440-yard dash. Edwin attributed his success at running to applying his knowledge of the mechanics of running and lots of stretching. He had a trademark technique, taking a consistent 13 steps between each hurdle instead of the usual 14, causing him to get ahead in the 2nd half of the race as his competitors changed their strides.
Waldruhe Park
Waldruhe Park was a gift to the city from Adam Schantz Jr., and is a gorgeous park saturated with trees. “Waldruhe” is German for “quiet forest.”
Adam Schantz, Jr.
Adam Schantz, Jr. was born December 16, 1867 on River Street in Dayton, Ohio. Son of Adam Schantz, Sr. and Salome Schantz, he joined his father in the meat-packing industry at the age of twelve. Later on, he became the bookkeeper for the brewery run by his father and uncle. Once he turned twenty-one, he controlled almost all of his father’s interests.
After Adam Sr. died, Adam Jr. became executor of the Schantz Estate. Adam Jr. was recognized as having made more changes to the Dayton skyline than anyone else. Ludlow Street was virtually rebuilt by him.
Dayton Unknown 